Denney/Barrett Announce Coaching Change to Zimmerman and Fontana

I am stunned. this seems to be very late in the off-season to make a change, and correct me if I am wrong but Fontana and Zimmerman do not have a track record as coaches. I see abit over confidence by Denny and Barrett this summer, from the David Wilson chreo and now this change. They had some breakout season, but that does not entitle them to belong among the top pairs. I just hope all these changes don't affect what made them so endearing in the beginning--thier relative consistency and vivacity.

I wonder if E/L will follow with a coaching change too. Amanda and Jeremy are a couple off the ice (at least they were last season) and E/L and D/B were
coached by the same team and trained together last season.

Well, they will still be in Florida. I wonder how far apart the bases are?

3.5-4 hours apart.

I didn't know Zimmerman and Fontana were even coaching, at least not at this level. It will also be weird since Denney's sister and Barrett's girlfriend (Evora) are still training in Ellenton.

I'm surprised by this move. If it aint broke, don't fix it. Something must have went wrong because the timing of this move isn't great with Champs Camp at the end of this month. I hope Denney & Barrett left on good terms in case they ever need/want to go back.

At first I was a bit shocked. Then, in a way, it makes sense. Once both D/B and E/L found themselves at the top of US pairs, it has to have become a little bit awkward to share the same coaches, with both teams now jockeying for the same #1 position. I would have guessed one of the teams would feel the need to go elsewhere for training now. But all the other well known pairs facilities in the USA (Colorado Springs, Delaware, So Cal) are nowhere close to Florida. Zimmerman/Fontana are pretty green as coaches, but maybe it was the best option for being in reasonably close proximity and keeping up the off-ice relationships (i.e. B and E).

I'm not at all sure this is going to help D/B's on-ice development and progression though.

Hopefully the are leaving because they were unhappy with their training situation and not because they are looking for a "magical quick fix" from Zimmerman. Sometimes when the success comes soon, you can get a little impatient. Zimmerman will not be able to do much with them in the few weeks they have left before they compete.